1 March 2023 by Angela Knox
The power of brands
A brand represents the IP of your company, what it represents and why it exists, and should be designed to create a memorable and lasting impression in the minds of your audience.
It is not an easy process creating a brand identity that encapsulates everything your company and/or brand stands for.
Great care should be taken to not only consider all of the key factors that are important in developing a new brand, but also reviewing these factors over time, refreshing the branding when necessary.
Company owners and marketers are the guardians of their brand, and with the right amount of preparation and careful stewardship over the branding development process, great results can be achieved in terms of relevance, impact, understanding and loyalty within your target audience groups.
And branding is expressed not only through visual imagery and logos, but also through written and verbal communication - through your website, collateral, advertising, PR and all communication materials both internal and external.
The use of a strapline or descriptor is also a useful device for explaining your brand to reinforce the message, particularly if the visual logo itself is not able to convey the brand's meaning.
Nike is a classic example of this, with the inclusion of the ‘Just Do It’ line under the tick, whereas now the tick is used in isolation, as the brand is fully understood - with a logo that cost just $35 to create!
At the other end of the spectrum some juggernaut-sized companies have spent eye-watering amounts of money on their brand identity, including the BBC at around £1.5m, Accenture at $100m, London 2012 Olympics at £0.5m - and that is just for the logo development.
When you build everything else around the logo itself, including the typography, website styling, tone of voice, messaging style, and brand book (when included) it is a considerable investment which can easily run into 6, 7 or even 8 figures, even for a relatively modest sized company.
And then there is the protection of the brand, its identity and local/global trademarks and patents.
Trademarking in the UK is actually quite a simple process, and one which is often overlooked by major businesses.
You can register directly with the government’s intellectual property office, or use an independent trademark specialist to do the work for you. If registering internationally with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) it’s a bit more involved and expensive, depending on how many countries you need to register.
The importance of consistency
When it comes to communicating your brand, whether it’s business as usual or talking to customers and prospects to build brand awareness, it’s vital to remember that consistency across all your communications is needed to ensure that whoever you are communicating with understands the message, and where it is coming from.
This is often forgotten or put to one side, unless there is a marketing function within the business that ensures everyone in the company from the top down fully understands the usage of the brand book and how it applies the brand standards across all the communications, design, imagery and office layout.
Having gone to the extent of working hard to build up your brand credentials and collateral, it’s vital to go the extra mile and make sure it’s carried across to everything you do.
I am a bit pedantic when it comes to detail, so if I see misuse of typography, spelling and grammatical errors or inconsistency of expression, incorrect use of brand colours or visual styling errors I start to get tetchy!
If you can get all of that right and devote time to ensuring everyone in your team and the company is clear about how they need to communicate, it’s an investment of time and money that will really pay off.
And it also gives your employees a clear communication framework which enhances their understanding of the company, its ethos and its principles.
Empower your employees to adopt these principles and they will become evangelists for the company, all with a clear vision of how they should be communicating your messages and values.
The same process is then adopted externally, so your customers, prospects and public all understand what your brand is about, and how it is important.
People become attached to brands that they like, and form attachments which can be life-long - if you manage to crack that then you fully understand the power of branding!